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Learning How To Live

by Michael Shoup

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1.
Control 03:02
Control I’ve been hiding out You won’t hear from me I’ve been finding ways to doubt Life’s sweet mysteries But then I see you there Standing tall before me Like you’ve done before CHORUS: How can I be the one to hold you When I’m barely standing still on my own I wish that I could just adore you Instead of living like a man out of control I see you inside out And that heart that’s on your sleeve You saddle up while I bail out And every time I start to speak I deceive again It comes without a warning On this ride you take me for [so tell me] CHORUS
2.
Dying To Live Beep Beep, 6 AM It’s the same old song and dance By the time you get to 9 All your dreams don’t stand a chance One more day and you’re feeling locked in Your heart clocked out before you even clocked in CHORUS: Ooh ooh You tell me that you’re trying just to live But you’re dying to live a little more Whoa, Ooh But Ooh Ooh You can be anything, you can be everything So what you waiting for? Whoa, Ooh You’re dying to live Lonely girl in the world With her mouth around a silver spoon Mom and Dad and all they had A little love could not come too soon 18 candles, she can make her Great escape, if they don’t break her CHORUS Doesn’t it tear you up inside? Doesn’t it leave you wanting more? You never know until you try What’s behind that open door CHORUS
3.
Learning How To Live Here I’m standing In these brand new clothes of mine Still not understanding How I never felt more naked than this time Is foolish hearts or brilliant minds That keep us putting ourselves up on the line Just keep telling myself it’s fine It’s fine CHORUS: And all I wanna be Is right in front of me But all I can see Is how to live carelessly Carelessly So let’s just take it back To the start Because lovin’ life was easy But it’s learning how to live that’s the hardest part Our we shouting cross the great divide Just in hopes that something still makes us feel alive But I’m still alive And it’s fine CHORUS So take it slow And take heart Don’t let it overload Cause learning how to live is the hardest part CHORUS
4.
Salem 04:17
Salem Don’t drive too fast Cause I’m not going anywhere this time It’s been days since you left And I can’t get you off my mind CHORUS: So you count the miles And I’ll count the minutes And soon we will know If our hearts are in this Cause it’s been so long Since I felt so right So just let me hold you tonight Meet me in Salem Feelin’ just a little crazy Thinking that we might be right Cause everything’s been changing And now I’ve got God on my side Every time that I hear You make me feel so alive So call me on the phone, baby And I’ll keep you steady while you drive CHORUS
5.
Working Man 03:39
Working Man Working man under the gun When will you decide to become someone Spending all your dead end time Searching for another social hill to climb So just use them up while they use you Cause those little white lies aren’t hard to do, oh no You want to be candy red, but you’re baby blue And those little white lies aren’t hard to do, oh no CHORUS: You lost another year But what for You lost another year Now what’s in store You taking the time to lose your mind So everything you know is fake or undefined Stumble through your day to day Didn’t plan for your life to end up this way But you still allow what you don’t do To make a hole inside of you, oh no C’mon, where’s the man that you once knew Gotta find the man that died in you, oh no CHORUS All this time you wasted Well now it’s time you faced it CHORUS
6.
Let Go 02:58
Let Go Battle’s over I surrender All my doubts like villains strive And I’ve been running Cause I can’t remember The last time I felt alive And I know we said That this would last forever Wonder when we’ll know that we’re so wrong CHORUS: I must slow down Cause you keep running into Everything I know You taught me love You taught me how to grow But now I gotta learn to let go I’ve been walking On this fine line Between love and about to die And I could fall to Either side Just give me one good reason why And I know we said That this would last forever Wonder when we’ll know that we’re so wrong CHORUS Learn to let go So I can find my way back home
7.
NYC 04:41
NYC Oh can you say those City lights a shining Most the time I wish that I could too But I can’t complain since I been life refining From Chapel Hill to Nashville Where I met you CHORUS: But still every now and then I just hear that city calling so Please don’t make me choose Oh cause half my heart’s trapped in New York City But the rest of it I’m holding out for you I know you don’t need no Don’t need no money, gold, or diamonds Ever poor and happy we could be I’d bring you coffee at midnight I’ll bring you wine when we’re dining And if you say the word I could be down on one knee CHORUS Sometimes at night I hear the subway roar But you turn on light And I don’t miss it anymore Cause you’re at my door CHORUS
8.
Loralie 03:38
Loralie Oh my love All it took was time Well you be what you want All I am is genuine I’ve been living off the words that I was fed From your bed And the thought that this might Be more than we said CHORUS: So tell me those lies Loralie So I can pretend that everything’s alright Cause it’s gonna take time To get you off of my mind So baby Just tell me sweet lies Tonight Morning comes And I can’t get to sleep Every memory Becomes a melody How could I have known b Before we had begun We’d come undone And I can’t help thinking You might be the one. CHORUS
9.
Bad News 03:02
Bad News First part I knew from the start It might be smart to just walkaway But next time You entered my mind And I was blind I’m a moth to your flame Should have known My friends said I’d keep you out of my heart But not out of my head CHORUS: But I don’t know what I’m gonna do I just know you plus me equals bad news Bad News I can’t divide what is me from what is you I just know you plus me equals bad bad Bad News Around and around And I’m up and you’re down And there’s no end in sight But you need me to want Not to love you But you want to keep it coming all night Should have known My friends said I’d keep you out of my heart But not out of my bed CHORUS Yesterday it was over But tonight it’s one last time One last time CHORUS
10.
Last Goodbye 04:13
Last Goodbye Nothing left to say All my reasons behind me So you go yours and I’ll go my way Every step I seem to take Is further from what we had been And closer to I’ll start again CHORUS: So maybe life’s not right Oh maybe life’s not right For what this love has got in store One last goodbye Oh just one last goodbye That’s all I waited for But I’m not anymore But I keep finding you in a memory All tied to Tied to the best pieces of me I always seem to play the fool And wind up broken hearted But I can’t tell just where it started CHORUS Everyone keeps telling me The past is practice And I just can’t keep killing time While I get past this Again I know, I know, I know I know, I know CHORUS

about

“Loving life is easy, it’s learning how to live that’s the hardest part”

This record has been a quarter century labor of love for me. Written throughout the last 4 years, it covers relationships good and bad, the frustrations and joys of seeking, losing, and seeking again the things we long for in life, and most importantly for me, the realization that we’re all learning as we go. I’ve lived and re-lived each of these songs countless times, and never knew until we started recording them how much I could learn from my own writing. Songwriting has always been the looking glass I use to see the world, and through the persistent friendship and talent of my Producer, Paul Shearer, we now get to turn that looking glass over to you guys.

What kind of music is it?

I’m a dude and I play guitar, so I’ve heard people say I remind them of John Mayer, Ryan Adams, or a decaffeinated Jason Mraz. Personally I like to think of my music as one part Jackson Browne, one part Hall & Oates, two big scoops of everything I heard from my stereo in the ‘90’s while ignoring my math homework, and a sprinkling of Sesame Street optimism. I learned to play guitar with The Beatles, Tom Petty, and James Taylor. e.e. Cummings showed me that it’s not always what you say, but what you don’t say and how you say it.

My hope through songwriting is to connect with you guys, the readers, listeners, and music participators, in a way that I’ve only touched on so far. To start conversations. To make us ask ourselves the big, and the little questions... and then laugh about them a lot after. So here I am, writing for you, if only because I know there’s nothing else in the world I’d rather be doing. Let's talk.

credits

released November 2, 2010

Produced by Paul Shearer
Mixed by Jeff Pardo and Josh Reynolds
Mastered by Richard Dodd

All songs written by Michael Shoup
except "Dying To Live" and "Bad News" written by Michael Shoup and Paul Shearer

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about

Michael Shoup Nashville, Tennessee

My mother calls me Michael. My friends call me Shoup.

A Songwriter, Storyteller, Pixel Manipulator, and Entropic Strategist, I make music and tools for others like myself.

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